LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The Social House in Lima is marking its one-year anniversary by using the celebration to support two local nonprofits fighting food insecurity.
For its annual holiday charity event, The Social House selected the West Ohio Food Bank and Our Daily Bread as beneficiaries. As guests enjoyed food, drinks, live music and holiday festivities, money collected from the $10 cover charge, a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction and a spare-change drive went directly back to the two Lima organizations to help address food insecurity. Guests also brought canned-good donations.
After receiving strong community support during their first year, organizers at The Social House said they wanted to give back — and Cenovus Energy is contributing to the effort as well.
"We've been very blessed with the support from the community throughout our first year being open. It's wonderful. We're coming together as a community, and I think that's what it's all about during this time of year," says Shannon Gerasimchik, Owner, Social House.
"From Cenovus, their donations will be matched from dollar-to-dollar, and so, we'll be able to match those donations to the West Ohio Food Bank and Our Daily Bread," says Samuel White Jr., Communication Advisor, Cenovus Energy.
Both the West Ohio Food Bank and Our Daily Bread say they are grateful for the community support, noting that the need for food assistance remains extremely high for many local families.
"Right now, is a crucial time to receive that because the numbers and the need is so high, and right here in the community where we live and work, we want to make sure that people have food on their tables. So, it's events like this, and it's the partnerships and support that make our mission possible," says Tommie Harner, CEO, West Ohio Food Bank.
"We're supported solely by the community, so when our next-door neighbor, basically, reached out to us, we were so excited that this is what community is. Recently, we've got a lot of new phone calls, lot of new faces, some old faces that we haven't seen for a while that have had to come back," says Randy Kimpel, Director, Our Daily Bread.
Harner says the West Ohio Food Bank is seeing a 10% increase each month in people seeking assistance. Kimpel says Our Daily Bread has already served 30,000 meals this year.
